We use instruments music from other cultures in music therapy all the timewithout even thinking about it

•

Many music therapists use American folk music, which is already made of musicfrom other cultures

•

Promotes cultural sensitivity among children

•

Promotes pride in own heritage

•

Different timbres and modes can reach people in different ways

•

Music therapy is global

•

The world is becoming more global, and easier to access more information, moremulticultural influences are being seen everywhere

It is important to have an understanding of your own clinicalbeliefs when choosing multicultural music.Our beliefs include:

•

Using recordings because we may not have access or know how to play certaininstruments

•

Language – we try to use as much English as possible because many kids havecommunication issues, and adding another language is not a goal that we work toward

Big Bunch, a Little Bunch

African-American Game Song

Goal areas addressed:

Communication (singing, imitation), Cognitive (figuring outsymbols to correspond to words, learning new words such as “smokehouse” and “wagonteam”), Motor (movement of arms/body to correspond to the words), Emotional (gettingthe chance to contribute, being a leader), Social (turn taking, finding appropriate actions,being part of a group)

Materials needed:

voices

Steps:

1. Sing “Big Bunch, a Little Bunch” a few times through2. Talk about some of the words in the song, “big”, “little”, “roses”, etc.3. Ask students how they could use their body to show those words (example of arms spread wide for “big”)4. Repeat for the words “big”, “little”, “roses”, “wagon team”, “smokehouse”“name of friend/Valentine” “darlin/friend”